Land patents are deeds from the U.S. government conveying title, and recorded by the government. The U.S. Public Land Survey System divides land into 24-mile tracts that are subdivided into 16 townships that are 6 miles by 6 miles, or 36 square miles. Each township is divided into 36 one-square-mile sections. Each section is 640 acres, and then sections would be halved and quartered, etc. For example, a Robert Asher land patent dated January 16, 1911, specified Township 9 South, Range 1 East, Section 31. Some patentees bought their land for cash, others homesteaded a claim, and others came into ownership via a donation act passed by Congress.